Lighten the load, Don't Break the Bank

**Valley Scout** · 02-10-2016, 11:05

All,

I know some of this has been done before, but after looking at a number of different threads (specifically the drop cloth tarp thread) I want to pose a question.

What are ways you have found to lighten your load (specifically dealing with your hammock setup, tarp, insulation) without spending much money?

We all know that with an unlimited budget we can buy any number of things that help us to reduce weight. Some folks are real gram counters, I am not, but as I approach 45 with sundry knee injuries I find myself looking at ways to just reduce a little weight in my pack. Obviously this topic could run amok and all sorts of topics could come up, but lets focus on our chosen shelter, insulation, tarps and any equipment you might carry to make these shelters better/more comfortable.

I am looking forward to seeing any simple ideas folks have used to drop the weight, while maintaining a measure of comfort and not breaking the bank account.

Thanks all,
Valley Scout

**bobbycobbler** · 02-10-2016, 11:52

Going to a single layer Dutch vs my double layer 1.7 WBBB shaved a ton of weight. The plus is, the Dutch was cheap. I think if findbyou can live with 3/4 underquilt, you'll save a little weight there too. As far as tarps, seems like ya got to spend the money to get real weight savings. On a side note, my clothing I take keeps reducing every trip.

**Brewguy** · 02-10-2016, 11:52

first thing is to take less.

Unless you have some really heavy hammock gear there is not much weight to be saved. Maybe look at cook gear, stove, other things you take that maybe you don't need. Do you have lots of extra layers? Do you always use them.

**Gideon** · 02-10-2016, 12:44

Good advice right off the bat to take less. Take less and reduce the amount/quantity of what you take. Dehydrated food versus "wet" food is another place. If you know your water sources, carry less water and filter/fill up more. Change clothing from heavy weight to lighter synthetic layers. Some of the "Starter" brand synthetic t shirt and long johns can be lighter than other clothing and when layered can be more effective. Leave the saw home and use wood you can break or use "as is". Change out thick wool beanie's for lighter synthetic ones. Leave the 7" knife home and take a small pocket knife. Use a mini-bic versus a full size bic. Change out parts of your cook kit; move from a Jetboil or Pocket Rocket stove to an alcohol or esbit stove; change your pot to a beer can pot or smaller titanium pot.

Okay, I think I've covered what would be relatively low cost options. None are huge savings but combined you may get a few pounds and it all adds up.

Having said that, a bit of advice. Start saving now and invest the money in a lighter weight Tarp, backpack, hammock, and quilts. It's expensive but "light" costs money; simply no way around that. I'm 55 with a really bad knee and back and that's what led me down the lightweight road. It changed my experience in the wood and I can't say enough about how much better I feel and how much more I enjoy the experience because I invested in lightweight. I look at it the same way as pads versus quilts. I tried the pads because they were cheaper but eventually I went with the quilts. In the end, I wish I'd skipped the whole pads thing and gone straight to quilts! I would have saved money, time, comfort, etc. I think lightweighting is similar. It's worth it to invest in lightweight versions of the big items like the backpack and such. I would plan those very carefully, save up, get the first one, and then repeat.

I'd still do everything I first listed and then buy a smaller/lighter pack to get the ball rolling. I'm also a very strong advocate for cuben fiber tarps. They're not cheap but they're a huge weight savings.

Hope this helps and good luck with your journey!

Gideon

**ocnlogan** · 02-10-2016, 12:50

I'm not an expert on any of this, so take that for what its worth.

The easiest answer is to take less stuff. Reduce the amount of hardware you use, the number of backups you bring, etc.

The next place to look seems to be making more things multi-use. Your belt could be one of your tree straps, a sitting pad could make a 3/4 length pad work as a full length when sleeping, etc.

And then finally just buying lighter gear. DIY is a good option for cheap and lower weight. I see that you have the same pad that I do. It's a pretty decent pad, but I'm sure you can find lighter bottom insulation. There are some lighter pads, our you could look into an underquilt, because some of them appear to be quite a bit lighter than the pad. Same thing with the tarp.

Good luck, and I'm interested to see what else everyone has to say.

**Dylanc95** · 02-10-2016, 13:38

Using disposable water bottles is one way. Instead of using the hard sided Nalgene bottles, go to a store and pick up a pack of water bottles. Personally I like the 20 oz Gatorade bottles. One thing that helped me was after a trip I would put all my gear into two piles. One pile was the stuff that was used, and the other was stuff that wasn't. I had to give myself a good reason to keep the stuff that wasn't used. At the end of the day though, you probably are going to have to spend some money on lighter equipment. Contrary to popular belief, not all lightweight gear is expensive. Lighter packs will usually cost less money, and a simple tarp can weigh less than a pound. The tarp can be very cheap too if it's DIY. The only thing that really is expensive is a down quilt. Good luck with going light, and let us know how it works out.

**SpitballJedi** · 02-10-2016, 13:46

I used to take way too much food and water. Now, I try to go to places that have a water source so I can just filter it as needed. I also have re-evaluated what I actually need.

I also stopped carrying my MSR Backpacker pump water filtration system from the 90's. It is heavy, mostly because of the ceramic part of the filter. I now use a small Sawyer squeeze. Turns out, the hose that fits the filter also fits hydration bladders, which I prefer over bottles. I can hang 2 bladders, one higher than the other, and filter 3L of water in less than 10 minutes. The bladders take up less space than bottles and I find I stay better hydrated water when using the bladder system than I do with bottles. I had thought about buying the expensive gravity water filtration system, you know, with the filter and 2 bags? but, I already had the bladders for my Camelback and was very pleased at how well they worked with the Sawyer.

I also saved a lot of weight by changing my mess set. I used to carry an MSR Whisperlight and a big stainless steel pot. Now, I carry a 1L pot and either an alcohol stove or MSR pocket Rocket. The idea of just boiling water to re-hydrate food has probably saved me a lot of weight. Using a small fire instead of a stove can reduce the amount of fuel you need to carry, too.

Getting rid of a bunch of individual dry bags and stuff sacks helps too. There are some things I like to keep separate, such as first aid and toilet paper, but clothes, quilts, and hammock all go in the same waterproof bag.

I switched to lighter weight cordage and suspension

Most things cost some money to change. But, when it's time to replace something, I try to go with the lighter weight options if they are in the budget. The cheapest way to reduce your load is to reduce what you need.

**Otter1** · 02-10-2016, 13:58

Lightweight
Cheap
Good

... Choose which two you want. Not joking here. It applies to most anything, IMO.

A rare exception is the Jarbridge UQ from Arrowhead Equipment. Diy can meet all three here as well, as it can for hammocks, especially with the new 1.0 oz fabrics from Dutch and ripstopbytheroll.

A Polycryo (MYOG) tarp is light and cheap. Durability is sacrificed.

A pad is light and cheap, but not very comfy.

There lots of other way that I have reduced weight, but you specifically asked about shelter, insulation, tarps, etc.

**SilvrSurfr** · 02-10-2016, 14:15

Don't discount the effect that money can have on reducing pack weight! If you're not going to touch the big four (pack, hammock, tarp, insulation), you can't save much weight.

I'm 56 years old with a rebuilt left knee. When I first started backpacking and hammock camping again about six years ago, my base weight for an overnighter was around 50 lbs. (without food or water). I knew I needed help losing weight (and bulk). I spent a couple of years determined not to spend any money, and my pack weight barely budged. Yeah, I gave up a 2 lb. Trangia mess kit for a soda can alky stove, and I stopped carrying a 2 or 3 lb. machete, but "leave more stuff at home" isn't an approach that happens overnight.

When I finally decided to spend some money, I replaced my 5 lb. North Face pack with a 1 lb. 12 ounce GoLite Jam 50. That was three lbs. gone at a price of $100, or about $33 a pound. Then I dumped my 4 lb. 0* synthetic bag and ccf pad (11 ounces?) , and replaced it with an HG 20* 3/4 Phoenix UQ ($199) and Burrow TQ ($249). So I reduced my insulation weight from 75 ounces to 34 ounces, at a cost of around $11 per ounce. Then, I dumped my 24 ounce poly tarp for a 6.5 ounce HG CF standard tarp, so that cost me about $17 an ounce to lose 17.5 ounces of weight.

Finally, I dumped my 44 ounce HH Asym Zip hammock for a $50 BIAS Weight Weenie Micro hammock (7 ounces) and $70 Fronkey bugnet (7 ounces), and $40 Dutch whoopie hook suspension (4 ounces). That weight savings ended up about costing me about $4.70 per ounce.

So basically, my base weight went from 800 ounces to around 90 ounces, and it only cost about $1000! Mind you, I didn't spend the money all at once - it was spread out over several years. The difference is amazing - with my old pack I couldn't hike more than 8 miles in a day, and I would be so stiff the next day I could barely walk. With my new pack, I've done 16 miles in a day, and even did 22 miles in a day last year while slackpacking.

Could I have achieved such a dramatic weight loss with "simple ideas?" I'm just not that creative. A heavy pack is a heavy pack, a heavy tarp is a heavy tarp, a heavy hammock is a heavy hammock and a heavy sleeping bag and pad will remain heavy. You just can't reduce weight much by playing around with the other accessories.